1. Field of the Invention
This invention involves increasing the cylinder displacement of a piston driven, internal combustion engine and more particularly, to increasing cylinder displacement and engine efficiency by providing a ported piston having a cavity designed to receive a fuel charge and fitted with an inertia-activated, "floating" wafer or wafer ring which acts as a fuel-charging device during engine operation.
A long-standing goal of internal combustion engine designers is to increase horsepower per cubic inch of cylinder displacement. Since the burning of more fuel equates to more energy, and therefore, greater engine horsepower, a simple method of achieving this result is to increase the size of the engine pistons and cylinders. While this expedient does increase the horsepower by increasing the quantity of fuel introduced into the cylinders, the size of the engine must also proportionately increase with the increase in size and/or number of cylinders. Accordingly, the total weight of the engine also increases and at some point there is an engine operating efficiency trade-off, depending upon engine application.
There are other ways to increase the horsepower of internal combustion engines. One of these methods is to reduce the unfilled area above the piston at its maximum upward stroke, thereby creating a higher compression ratio. In another technique the crown of the piston is enlarged and while this does increase the compression ratio, the volume of the cylinder is reduced.
The ported piston of this invention increases engine displacement in an internal combustion engine without the trade-off deficiencies noted above. Each reciprocating piston has within it a cavity which accepts a charge of fuel during the intake stroke of the well known engine Otto cycle. The ported piston design of this invention includes an internal, inertia-activated, cavity-dividing device, hereafter referred to as a wafer or wafer ring, located in a cavity within the piston. The wafer or wafer ring is designed with tolerances supporting its role as a fuel-charging device and is actuated by its own inertia during piston reciprocation. The bottom of the cavity includes one or more ports configured to vent the cylinder-enlarging cavity through the top of the piston into the cylinder through one or more inertia-sensitive check valves located in the port or ports. The top section of the divided cavity has one or more ports configured to vent the top section of the cavity to the underside of the piston.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,769, dated Aug. 5, 1975, to Joseph A. Jozlin, details "Secondary Combustion Chambers For Internal Combustion Engines". The secondary combustion chambers of this invention are formed by a cavity lying adjacent to the primary combustion chamber. The secondary chamber communicates by means of one or more ports with the primary chamber and is supplied with a fuel-air mixture that is ignited and exhausted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,967, dated Jun. 6, 1978, to Robert A. Haslett, details "Internal Combustion Engines". In this engine the major part of the combustion chamber of each cylinder includes a recess formed in the piston crown and a catalytic element of mesh, grid perforated, or sintered construction is carried by the piston, the fuel and air mixture being injected into the recess to contact and pass through the catalytic element, where it is ignited by the catalytic element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,239, dated Feb. 26, 1985, to Friedrich Bauer, et al, details an "Air-Compressing, Direct-Injection Internal Combustion Engine". The piston of this engine is formed with a combustion chamber in the shape of a solid of revolution and includes a constricted throat opening where a fuel-air mixture formation is injected, predominantly by fuel deposition on the walls of the combustion chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,383, dated Apr. 28, 1987, to Gary L. Leonard, details a "Clean Air Blow-By System For Diesel Engine". In this engine, clean air is blown past compression ring seals to prevent particulate matter in combustion gases from entering between a cylinder wall or liner and a piston sidewall. A chamber is also disposed in the piston and includes a port substantially centered on the piston crown and a blow-by port on the piston sidewall bounded by the two compression ring seals. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,804, dated Jul. 24, 1990, to T. Matsuura, et al, details a "Piston With A Ceramic Insert That Covers Piston Head Portion Defining Cavity". The piston head has a cavity and a central projection extending into the cavity. A ceramic insert is cast in a piston body to cover a piston head portion defining the cavity, except the central projection and its adjacent piston head projection. U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,028, dated Jul. 8, 1997, to Matsuoka, et al, details a "Piston Structure With A Combustion Chamber". The combustion chamber structure has a combustion chamber almost at the center of the piston and is installed in a cavity formed in the piston body, with a heat-insulating layer interposed therebetween. The combustion chamber structure is formed with a nozzle insertion hole and communication holes. A rich-air fuel mixture is generated in the upper part of the combustion chamber and the mixture is quickly injected into the cylinder chamber to produce the combustion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ported piston for increasing the cylinder displacement of internal combustion engines, wherein the ported piston includes a cavity or cavity ring opening fitted with an inertially-operating wafer or wafer ring to increase engine cylinder displacement, and thus the engine operating efficiency and horsepower.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved piston design for enlarging the cylinder displacement of internal combustion engines, which design includes a cavity located in the piston, at least one port having an inertia-sensitive ball, gate or seal in a check valve for connecting the cavity to the engine cylinder, at least one port connecting the top section of the divided cavity to the underside of the piston and a "floating" or suspended wafer provided in the cavity, which wafer divides the cavity and "floats" by its own inertia in the cavity and charges fuel in the cavity throughout the engine Otto cycle.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a ported piston for increasing the cylinder displacement, efficiency and horsepower of internal combustion engines, which ported piston includes a piston cavity or cavity ring opening provided with a wafer or wafer ring that divides the piston cavity or cavity ring opening horizontally and at least one port connecting the bottom portion of the piston cavity or cavity ring opening with the top of the piston and the engine cylinder and an inertia and pressure-operated check valve utilizing a "floating" ball, gate or seal in the port, wherein the ball, gate or seal also "floats" by its own inertia and regulates air-fuel and exhaust flow responsive to operation of the engine through the four cycles of intake, compression, power and exhaust. The piston also includes at least one port connecting the top section of the divided cavity to the underside of the piston for pressure relief and lubrication purposes.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved ported piston for increasing the displacement of an internal combustion engine and fitted with a ring-shaped or annular cavity provided with a wafer ring that "floats" in the cavity according to its own inertia during the engine strokes or cycle, wherein at least one port has an opening adjacent to the bottom of the ring-shaped, annular cavity and extends through the top of the piston to communicate with the piston cylinder. A check valve having an inertia-sensitive ball, gate or seal, such as a closure flap, may be provided in the port to control wafer ring-compressed fuel-air mixture entry and exit from the ring-shaped cavity. The cavity has at least one other port connecting the top section of the divided cavity to the underside of the piston.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a ported piston for increasing the displacement of an internal combustion engine, which ported piston includes an insert cavity in the top thereof designed to receive a piston insert, also having a cavity that receives a wafer or a ring-shaped or annular cavity fitted with a wafer ring. The wafer and ring "float" according to inertia during engine operation to charge and expel fuel. Further included is at least one check-valved port connecting the bottom portion of the cavity or ring-shaped, annular cavity with the top of the piston and the cylinder to access the fuel. The divided cavity also typically contains at least one other port connecting the top section of the divided cavity to the underside of the piston.